Fly through the sky with Lake Erie Canopy Tours, new zipline course in Geneva-on-the-Lake (photos)

GENEVA-ON-THE-LAKE, Ohio - The shorebirds of Lake Erie will have to make room for another species crowding the airspace near the water - human beings, hanging from cables, shrieking as they fly through the sky.

Ohio's newest zipline adventure provides a view none of its competitors can offer: terrific sights of the Lake Erie shore, seen from the vantage point of a bird in flight.

The tallest tower on the tour stands 60 feet above the ground, where riders get to race, two at a time on side-by-side cables, straight north toward Lake Erie. At 850 feet, this is the course's longest zipline, soaring above Cowles Creek and reaching a top speed of 30 mph.

"It's the closest I've come to flying," said Laurie Skelley, of Canton, who tried ziplining for the first time last week.

She admitted to a bit of trepidation as she considered the mass of clips and carabiners hanging from her harness before the tour began. But once she stepped off that first platform: "It was a blast, flying through the air. I would definitely do it again. I was kind of sad it was over."

Lake Erie Canopy Tours is one of a growing number of zipline courses now open in Ohio, an increasingly popular adventure activity that has its roots in Costa Rica in the 1990s. Other zipline tours in Northeast Ohio include Common Ground Canopy Tours near Oberlin and Tree Frog Canopy Tours near Loudonville.

Though the geography differs, the experiences are largely the same:

* Two guides accompany groups of approximately eight paid guests, with one guide stationed at the "receiving" platform and the other at the "launching" platform.

* Guests are sent aloft one at a time, hanging from cables that stretch from tree to tree, creating a maze of Tarzan-like flights through the forest.

* A 10-minute how-to-zip session precedes the fun. Logan Barmess, one of two guides that accompanied my group, told us how to speed up ("form a cannonball"), slow down ("make like a starfish") and keep from spinning (extend one arm and one leg in the direction you don't want to go).

The Geneva tour features eight ziplines, including two side-by-side cables for racing, plus five bridges. The last three lines offer views of Lake Erie, including a 240-foot route that runs parallel to the water a couple dozen feet from shore.

I probably chased the seagulls away with my shrieks of glee.

One other unusual element of this course: The canopy tour intertwines with the Adventure Challenge Course, an aerial obstacle course that is also new this year at Geneva State Park. Both zipliners and ropes course participants meet up on Lookout Loop, a 40-foot tower in the middle of the forest with numerous launch platforms for extended fun.

One final note about the course: It's built among the treetops set between the resort hotel and the Geneva State Park marina - and at times, both are visible from the canopy towers, as is the marina parking lot. So if a remote wilderness experience is what you're after, this probably isn't the place.

The zipline here is the first in Ohio built by Skyline Ziplines, based in western Canada, which also has courses in Hawaii, New York, West Virginia and North Carolina. This zipline features a built-in braking system, in contrast to some canopy tours that require participants to slow themselves down by placing a gloved hand on top of the cable as they near the end of the line.

The course was expected to open in mid-summer, but weather delays pushed back opening day - as did the theft of $70,000 worth of equipment from a parked trailer near the construction site, still unsolved, according to local police.

Delaware North, the private company that operates the lodge, paid for construction of the course, which cost $1.75 million.

If you go: Lake Erie Canopy Tours is open Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays through October - possibly into November, depending on the weather, according to canopy tour manager Debbie Post. Tour cost is $89. Reservations are recommended.

The adult adventure course is $49; the kids course is $19.

The facility will reopen in April or May, depending on the weather, with daily operations starting Memorial Day Weekend.

The office and retail store are located at 4888 North Broadway, adjacent to the Lodge at Geneva-on-the-Lake. Information: lakeeriecanopytours.com.

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